Slytherins Don't Slouch
by Chainsofblame
Summary: When Sirius goes to Hogwarts, he thinks he’s getting away from his hated family life at last. What he doesn’t know is that she doesn’t plan on letting him get away that easy and is determined to make his life at Hogwarts a living hell. It’s a stor
1. You Can Never Trust Blinkers

**When Sirius went away to Hogwarts, he thought he was getting away from his hated family life at last. Unfortunately, his mother refused to simply watch her eldest son become a Gryffindor without any of her own personal interference and is quite keen to make her sons existence at Hogwarts a living hell. This is a story of how he became friends with Peter, Remus, and James. It's a story of love, hatred, and some serious mother/son issues. –Taking place during the Marauder's first year.**  
  
**A/N** – And it's true that I'm leaving out Peter just for a little while...I'm simply working off Sirius' quote in POA saying that it used to be just him, Remus, and James...I promise, I'm not erasing Peter because I don't like him...he's actually quite fun for me to write about...he'll have a big part later, I promise.  
  
**Disclaimer:  
  
I hate writing these. I obviously am not creative enough to own any of this myself, and I'm endlessly grateful for J.K. Rowling, who has very successfully kept me entertained by unknowingly providing me with many characters to sack, hold captive and er...borrow for fanfiction.**

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Sirius was struggling to lift the heavy marbled black slab of stone from the floor of the caf's restroom.  
  
He'd been going through the same routine for some time now. Every morning, he got dressed in the disgustingly formal clothing that his mother insisted on picking out for him. Then he stood silently in front of the grand gold framed mirror in his bedroom while his mother circled him with squinted eyes, muttering various insults while tugging on his robes, smoothing out wrinkles, and slapping his hand each time it strayed to find the pocket of his slacks.  
  
"Don't _slouch_...Slytherins don't slouch."  
  
She'd been saying things like that for as long as he could remember. 'Blacks never put their hands in their pockets like juvenile children', or 'Slytherins take pride in their appearance', and 'If you want to look respectable, like a true Black, you'll stand straighter.' Although he had no desire whatsoever to look like a 'true Black' or a 'respectable Slytherin', Sirius almost always obeyed his mother's requests.  
  
After his mother's daily inspection, Sirius would quickly and gladly leave the house to walk directly to Madam Madeline's Tea Shoppe of West Diagon Alley, where he would change into his own clothes in the restroom at the back of the small tea shoppe.  
  
He finally managed to lift the stone block from the ground of the café, revealing an open hole large enough to stuff his ratty old robe, hat, and faded jeans into. He hastily pulled his hidden clothing out of the floor and grinned.  
  
When Sirius turned ten, his parents decided it was absolutely necessary for him to find a proper job so he could save up to pay for any materials he would need for school. Although his father had a very steady job with the ministry and the family had absolutely no trouble with money, his parents hoped that the summer job would teach him to live up to his name and teach him responsibility. So Sirius told them he found a job working at St. Ciniver's House of Magical Music, which was a very classy, dim lit shop in Diagon Alley. And this wasn't a _complete_ lie. He _had_ worked there shortly. He had been employed there for at _least_ two days, afterall, possibly even three before he was fired for falling asleep under the baby grand piano. He figured a small portion of his brain had rotted from sheer boredom while he was there and caused him to forget the minor detail of how long he actually had remained working there.

As he had expected, his parents found the idea of him working at a formal, tasteful, and refined place was most expectable, and he was therefore permitted to leave every morning for work without question.

What they didn't know, however, was that Sirius worked daily at the opposite side of Diagon Alley where he had managed to find a decent job at a store called Quality Quiddich Supplies after being fired from St. Ciniver's. At first he was unbearably excited about this, but after being dubbed as clerk instead of chief inspector, he quickly lost interest.  
  
Stuffing the black robes and slacks his mother had been endlessly dewrinkling all morning into the small hole of the floor was no easy task, but Sirius had managed to fully conceal the clothing and was now lifting the stone back into place.

He blew hair out of his eyes as he stood up and carelessly pulled his yellow and black nit cap over his head, causing his hair to sink a little more over his eyes.

The robes he pulled from his hiding place were brown and wrinkly, with countless strays of fabric and holes forming around the pockets and sleeves. His pants were in an even worse state of grubbiness, with frayed bottoms and a large blue patch over his right knee. He wore his orange work uniform shirt under his robes which bore the name of the store as well as his own name, which was spelt horribly wrong and just as his boss often pronounced it. Seerulis.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked out of the bathroom, grinning as a very nicely dressed elderly couple eyed him with great distaste.

He glanced casually at his watch as he crossed the street. When he reached the building of Quality Quittich Supplies, he struggled for a moment with the front door, which always stuck. He swore loudly as he stumbled in after pinching his finger on the rusty metal latch. A woman standing near the check out counter looked at him offensively.

"Morning Mr. Perchette," Sirius said smiling at his boss, ignoring the woman's glaring.  
  
"There are boxes that need to be unloaded in the back, Seerulis. And you're fifteen minutes late," his boss replied with irritation. "And don't forget the broom glove display you promised you'd have done three days ago."  
  
It was a marvel Sirius hadn't been fired long ago. He was hardly a strong asset to the shop, and was very bluntly unenthusiastic with the job.  
  
"Excuse me, sir, do you work here?"  
  
Sirius turned around to see a tall middle aged man with neat gray hair, glasses, and dark eyes clutching a book on ancient Quiddich techniques.  
  
"Mmm hmm," Sirius mumbled. Realizing he might be acting a bit unprofessional, he smiled at the man and straightened. "Yes I do, sir. Can I help you?"  
  
"Er...yes, I...I can't seem to find a price on this book here..."  
  
He handed Sirius the book. Sirius looked at it, flipped it over a few times and checked the inside cover, searching for a price tag. Not successful in finding the orange price label, Sirius simply looked back at his customer and shook his head. "Hmm, yeah...sorry, can't help you...I don't see it," he replied, handing the man the book back.  
  
"Well...can't you...I don't know...ask someone?"  
  
"Sure you can...right up at the front counter...his name's Mr. Perchette," Sirius directed proudly.  
  
It was then that Sirius noticed for the first time a boy standing beside the man. He had laughed quietly after Sirius answered the man with the book.  
  
"But...you...you work here," the man offered irritably.  
  
"It's all right, dad," the boy said quietly. "I don't really want it, anyway."  
  
Sirius guessed he and the boy were around the same age. The boy looked nothing like his father. He had very light brown hair and hazel eyes, which seemed to have an almost yellow tint.  
  
"You going to Hogwarts this year?" Sirius asked him.  
  
"It's my first year," the boy replied, "and you?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"His name is Remus," the boy's father offered, "Remus Lupin." He had evidently forgotten his irritation with Sirius and was obviously attempting to help his son make new friends.  
  
Sirius grinned when Remus glared at his father in embarrassment.  
  
"Sirius Black," he stuck out his hand, which Remus shook, "it's nice to meet you." The boy smiled, but didn't say anything more.  
  
"I'll see you at school, then," Sirius said as he turned from the two of them and headed to the back of the store.

It was certainly an odd thing, but Sirius had a talent for noticing how often people blinked during conversations. Well, perhaps it wasn't a talent, per se, but he always noticed anyway.  
  
The boy he met that day blinked too much.  
  
He didn't like when people blinked too much. It made him feel like maybe they were hiding something. Like they couldn't be trusted. His dentist used to blink more than what Sirius would have thought humanly possible. He pondered how the man could concentrate on teeth without having his eyes open for more than a second. Two years later Sirius read in the Daily Prophet that the man had been arrested for having a fake Apparating license. He decided that 'You can never trust blinkers' would be his new philosophy from now on.

"Last day, ey, Seerulis?" his boss called across the store at Sirius.  
  
Sirius grinned. "Yep. Unless I get expelled tomorrow, of course."  
  
"Of course," Mr. Perchette smiled at him. "You know, you've done a great job this summer," he told him.  
  
_'Right, a great job...he's just saying that because I'm leaving._' Sirius thought bitterly, but smiled pleasantly at him.  
  
"In fact...I'll tell you what...since this is your last day, what'd you say I let you out a bit early? In fact...right after the next costumer leaves," he paused and made a face as he pulled spider webs off of the shelves that held beater bats, "urg—anyway, after the next costumer, you can go on home. Get ready for school and such. I'm sure you've already got enough on your mind. No need to complicate it any further."  
  
"Sounds great," Sirius replied happily. Of course, he wouldn't go home, though...but he could probably get in some last minute shopping for the day, maybe get some ice cream at Mortayls...  
  
"And Seerulis.."  
  
"Mmm?"  
  
"Take off that _ridiculous_ hat before someone sees you."  
  
Sirius had taken a liking to his father's old purple top hat which he chose to wear to work that morning. He had it slanted at a peculiar angle atop his head, and was wearing it proudly. All day he had been insisting to humored customers that it made him look five times taller. He took it off his head reluctantly and put in on the coat rack by the door. A bell chimed throughout the store as it did every time someone entered or left.  
  
"Ten minuets, James, and I'm serious this time," a woman's voice sounded from the front of the store.  
  
"Oh come on...we spent...what? Two hours at...what's it called? Auntie Anus's..."  
  
Sirius hated Audrey Agnus's. His mother could spend hours there, picking out boring, pointless and fragile looking magical collectables, all which seemed to be places on high shelves, dangling precariously, threatening to break if he got too near them. It was traumatizing to say the least.  
  
"9 minuets, 55 seconds, now, so suggest you get a move on," the woman said as Sirius rounded the corner of the shop and smiled at the two of them.  
  
_'Alright...9 minuets, 55 seconds to freedom'_ Sirius thought as he stepped behind the counter, immediately resuming his normal position, leaning against the window, arms crossed, watching his potential costumers.  
  
"Hey mum, what's a fetish?" the boy asked lazily, picking up a book and weighing it in hands before putting it back on the shelf.  
  
The women looked thoughtful for a moment and spoke slowly when she apparently reached an answer. "A fetish? Well...it's kind of an obsession. I think it has something to do with being sexually attracted to odd objects...like feet or towels and things."  
  
The boy laughed and rumpled his already insanely messy black hair.  
  
"So if I called you 'foot fetish' from now on in public...people would think you were bizarrely attracted to feet?"  
  
"Try not to do that, honey," she said very seriously with a frown.  
  
_'Lucky prat'_ Sirius thought as he watched the boy poke his mother with a broom cleaning stick. _'If I even thought about feet fetishes in front of my mother I'd be banned from life itself for at least two years.'  
_  
Sirius watched the two of them make their way around the entire shop before the boy picked up a cleaning kit for his broom and held it up for his mother to approve. They said a few words to one another and then came to the counter at the front of the store.  
  
"Hi there," Sirius addressed the woman, "is this all?"  
  
"Unfortunately," the boy chimed in.  
  
_'Spoiled little bugger_.' Sirius glanced at the price tag. "Twelve galleons, mam."  
  
"Say, aren't you a bit young to be working here?" she asked him while digging through her handbag. He had the insane urge to push up her glasses, which were falling down her nose.  
  
"Yes," he replied casually while bagging the kit, "but seeing as how I'm so immature and ungrateful...not to mention ignorant and disappointing...my parents decided I needed a job to teach me....responsibility or something."  
  
"Well, I think that's lovely," she said smiling before giving a meaningful look at her son. "I'm sure you'll learn a lot working here."  
  
Sirius was fighting the urge to yawn. He hated when people attempted polite conversation while they checked out. Most people that came in were all proud parents of their young witch or wizard, and wouldn't shut up about how bloody happy they were that their children received their letters. Some particularly obnoxious parents sometimes took to rambling on about their own personal favorite classes and professors, occasionally telling boring tales of what they obviously considered to be adventurous stories of playing Quiddich or visiting Hogsmeade.  
  
"It's a cool job though, right?" the boy asked, picking up his purchase, " I mean...it must be so bloody great...working at a Quiddich shop, of all places..."  
  
_'No, not cool'_ would normally be Sirius's response to this, but he enjoyed seeing the spoiled boy look at him with complete jealousy.  
  
"Best job in the world," Sirius grinned proudly. "It's incredible."  
  
"Do you get to try out the newest Quiddich stuff?"  
  
"Oh, all the time."  
  
"Lucky," the boy replied, shaking his head.Well, the guy certainly wasn't a blinker. But why should he be? His personality was worn out on his sleeve for the world to see. Spoiled prat with a mother practically under his Imperious Curse, trying constantly to make her son happy. The boy was probably at home right now...counting all his new gifts and eating a feast entirely made of chocolate.

Sirius was walking the few blocks between his house and Diagon Alley, absentmindedly twirling his top hat with his fingers and kicking a small rock in front of him. He pulled on the collar of his hideous white turtleneck, which was practically choking him to death while overheating him at the same time. He dragged his dark black robes behind him while sun beat down on him as he walked. He hated the clothing his mother chose for him. And he hated walking to and from the tea shop wearing the stupid things. He looked at his watch. Only thirteen more hours separating him from Hogwarts. Thirteen hours.

The train was leaving in five minuets Sirius heard a lady passing scream at her children. Sirius was standing beside his mother with a rucksack thrown over his shoulder, large wooden suitcase at his side, balancing an owl cage under his left arm where his pet owl, Peachry was sleeping lazily on one leg.  
  
"Remember...," his mother began.  
  
"I know, Slytherin is the greatest place ever...Blacks don't put their hands in their pockets, and hopefully I won't be such a disgrace to my family after this year..."  
  
She scowled at him. He normally avoided cutting his mother off, thus avoiding scowls identical to this.  
  
"I should be boarding the train," he said before she could scold him, "I'll see you."  
  
And he walked away. That was it. No tearful goodbye that seemed to fill the rest of the station. No last minuet speeches of how proud his mother was of him, and certainly no hugs or even a friendly wave like the other children received. Just one last scowl and Sirius struggled to board the train without any help with his trunk and owl.  
  
"...Oh nonsense, Remus...when I was in school my Herbology teacher was a vampire, Dumbledore idolized the man...could care less that if he was a vampire or not..."  
  
"But dad...that's different."  
  
"No it's not," the man shushed him. "Now hurry up now...the train leaves in two minuets."  
  
Sirius recognized both the boy and the man from somewhere. _'Oh right, the blinker'_ he quickly remembered as the boy came nearer.  
  
"Need help with that?" he offered Sirius, reaching for his trunk.  
  
"Oh, hey thanks. Remus, right?"  
  
The boy nodded and helped Sirius with his trunk.  
  
"Where's your stuff?" Sirius asked him.  
  
"I put it in the back already. It's kind of a run down compartment, but no one else was there."  
  
Sirius saw what the boy meant. For some reason this compartment was one hundred times worse than all the others. The seats were torn, the floor had a small hole rusting through it near the door and the windows had an odd yellowish crust forming around them.  
  
"My dad says it's part of the old train," Remus told him, lifting the trunk into a compartment above the seats. "The rest of the train was remodeled...they left this compartment intact as kind of a...uh...," he waved his hand as he struggled to find a good word, "as kind of a memorial, I guess."  
  
"Hmm. So we should be honored, really. To sit here, I mean" Sirius replied, plopping down casually on the torn seat. "Just imagine it...years ago someone who's old or probably dead by now was sitting in this very seat...brings tears to my eyes, it does," he said sarcastically.  
  
"I know what you mean...look I have goose bumps," Remus added as he sat down across from him, holding out his arm.  
  
They both laughed for a while but as their laughter died the compartment became very quiet. Remus watched out the widow, obviously searching for his dad. He spotted him in the crowd and waved. Sirius waved too, just so he didn't feel too left out. Remus's father beamed and waved back proudly. He was standing next to an equally happy looking woman with light brown hair and a thin frame. Remus's mother, Sirius guessed.  
  
"Where are your parents?" Remus asked him, looking away from the window as the train started to move.  
  
Sirius shrugged. "I don't know....probably at home by now, sitting in their best dress robes in the kitchen and staring at the wall. They do important things like that all day...couldn't miss it to come see me off."  
  
Remus didn't push the topic.  
  
Sirius pulled the rucksack off of his shoulder and began rummaging through it. After a few seconds he found what he was looking for. Remus eyed the orange beret and laughed as Sirius threw it on over his head.  
  
"I love hats," Sirius announced, "my mother hates them, but then...," he sighed as though this fact bothered him, "to each his own, I suppose..."  
  
They spent the remainder of the time chatting about their various subjects and what each of them had been told about Hogwarts.  
  
"What house are you hoping to be in?"  
  
Sirius shrugged. "Anything but Slytherin."  
  
"But weren't you saying earlier that-"  
  
"That my parents would most likely disown me if I became anything but a Slytherin...yes, yes I most definitely did say that. And they would. Kick me out that is."  
  
Remus grinned. "I'm hoping for Ravenclaw or Gryffindor," he told him, "my mum was in Ravenclaw, and my dad was in Gryffindor...they still fight over which house was the best."  
  
Sirius laughed. "Well, my parents certainly agree on the topic of which house is the 'best'."  
  
"Let me guess...," Remus started, forcing his face into a look of mock concentration... "Hufflepuff, right?" he concluded sarcastically.  
  
"Well of course! How on earth did you guess, you sly dog?"

Sirius would have never thought he'd be sitting on the train to Hogwarts joking and laughing with a blinker. Although Remus wasn't blinking as much as he was last time he saw him, Sirius still couldn't shrug the fact that he blinked more than the average person. 'I'm the weirdest, creepiest prat in the world' he thought as he counted the times Remus blinked while looking out the window. Perhaps it was just a nervous habit. He used to bite the skin on the inside of his mouth when he was nervous. Or maybe Remus suffered from some unknown rare blinking disease. Either way, it was driving Sirius mad watching him.  
  
Sirius leaned his head back on the seat, not bothering to move even though metal was poking him hard in the neck. He was suddenly feeling quite tired. Just as he closed his eyes to get in a short nap before getting to Hogwarts, someone whipped open the door to their compartment, cracking the small glass window on the compartment door as it slammed against the woodwork.  
  
"Damn it! Seven years now...," Sirius heard the voice of a boy declare as he entered the room.  
  
Sirius looked to see who it was. It was the spoiled kid from the store. Jake or Jared or something.  
  
"They said this compartment was empty...," he stated, "mind if I sit here? I was hoping to get away from that blasted Jefferson boy..."  
  
He paused when he looked at Sirius, and then grinned stupidly. "Nice hat."  
  
Sirius glared back for a second, then rested his head back against the metal bar.  
  
"Actually, Gary and Hessle just left to use the bathroom...they'll be back in a minute," Sirius lied.  
  
"Bathroom? There's no bathroom on this train," the boy countered.  
  
"That's what you think," he grinned at the ceiling, which also had a rusted hole in it. Sirius watched as patches of green and blue whipped by outside.  
  
But the stubborn bastard didn't leave. He was introducing himself to Remus as Sirius felt the weight of the boy sitting beside him. _'James'_ he suddenly remembered.  
  
"Hey, you're the one who works at the Quiddich shop! What was your name again?"  
  
_'The one who works at the Quiddich shop?'_ Sirius thought. _'What was that? Perhaps he should answer with something like He Who Works at the Quiddich Shop._ "Sirius Black," he managed to say, not bothering to move his head from the back of the seat as he talked.  
  
"James Potter," the rude one announced.  
  
Sirius laughed. _'The rude one',_ he thought to himself as he laughed again, _'I like that.'  
_  
"What's so funny?" James asked him.  
  
"Nothing..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I said nothing. Honestly, I just laugh sometimes...I'm like...a...what'd you call it?" He sat up suddenly and looked at Remus. "You know...er...a..."  
  
"Crazy person," Remus offered.  
  
"Thanks, no...damn, what'd you call that..." he snapped his fingers once, and then stared out the window for a while thinking in frustration.  
  
When he looked back he watched James and Remus stare at him for a while, which caused him to laugh again and forget what he was trying to think of.  
  
"I'm going to second the crazy person theory," James announced, "or perhaps completely sodding mad would better describe it..."  
  
Remus and James laughed but Sirius rolled his eyes. For some reason he didn't find it funny at all when James said it like that. He shrugged it off and watched James blink while he talked to Remus. Four...five, six... He wished the guy would blink more so he could blame his dislike on something. James grew more and more annoying to Sirius as he insisted on asking boringly stupid questions to he and Remus. After a very long ride with a seat spring beginning to feel very present, Sirius stood for the first time in hours and raised his arms to stretch. He glanced out the window. They were stopped outside a dark train station and it was raining heavily. He took off his bright orange beret and reached in his bag to find his corduroy water repelling brown hat, which looked a bit like a bowl tipped upside down with a rim surrounding it. Finding it, Sirius quickly placed it on his head and adjusted it so his hair was pushed over his eyes again and it was tipped and slightly crooked. James laughed in the same arrogant tone Sirius had been listening to all day.  
  
"What is it with you and hats, Sirius?"  
  
"I love hats," Sirius answered simply in a bored voice, throwing his school robes on. "Don't you have any hobbies, Potter? Anything in particular you care for? Weird obsessions? Interests? 'Other than yourself', he thought bitterly as he watched James  
  
"Well, yeah...," James started, "But I don't wear brown bowler hats often."  
  
_'What a completely idiotic answer'_, Sirius concluded bitterly as James laughed at himself. "That's it now...no more than four to a boat...only one boat of three, now..."

A short, plump man with a very unflattering yellow shiny robe was beckoning the first years to the edge of the water, leading groups of four to small wooden boats waiting on the shore.  
  
"_Boats?_ Wait...we're supposed to...take...," Remus was staring in horror at the transportation the short man was offering them. "So we're going to...to sail across or something?"  
  
"Well, yeah, how else do you expect to get across?" James asked pointing to the great lake separating them from the castle.  
  
"But...there must be some other way...," Remus continued wildly, "I hate boats. I hate water."  
  
"Oh come on, it won't be that bad, I promise," Sirius said, leading him along to the last boat. "You'll be fine...I'm sure of it."  
  
Rain was dropping harder on the ground, splashing mud on the hems of their robes as they stood along the shoreline. Remus hesitantly climbed aboard, immediately clutching the sides of the boat with both hands and staring intently at his shoes. Sirius grinned as he sat across from him with James. With a sudden jerk, the boats began to make their way towards the castle. Sirius titled his head towards the sky and stuck his tongue out, catching fat rain drops and listening to the sloshing of the water against the wood of the boat. Lights were shining foggily in the distance as the outline of Hogwarts started to become clear. Remus looked absolutely terrified. He refused to look up from his feet, and was now clutching the sides of the boat so desperately it was as though he thought if he'd let go, he'd immediately die. Sirius began to rock the boat playfully as he watched Remus.  
  
"Don't...don't' do that," Remus snapped at him, "I'm serious...please...."  
  
But now James joined Sirius in rocking the boat gently against the waves, looking in the distance with a straight face as though he hadn't even noticed Remus was there. Sirius laughed as Remus closed his eyes in terror.  
  
"Oh come on, it's not that bad," he told him. "Just join in...start rocking...it'll make you feel better."  
  
"I guarantee it won't," Remus coldly responded.  
  
"Well then," James chimed in, "we won't stop until you start."  
  
Remus quickly rocked a little for about two seconds and then stopped.  
  
"Mmm. No, no, Remus. That certainly won't do," Sirius declared, "you have to look up from your feet when you do it...and sort of shift your weight more...like this..."  
  
He began violently rocking the boat now.  
  
Remus looked up from the floor. "I hate you, you know," he said through gritted teeth as Sirius grinned.  
  
"Yes just like that...," James said, rocking quickly from left to right while Sirius laughed. The prat was starting to grow on him.  
  
To Sirius' surprise, Remus suddenly joined them. "There," he said as he shifted his weight from side to side, still pale and clutching the sides. "You happy now?"  
  
"Ecstatic." Sirius beamed.  
  
But to his surprise Remus continued to sway back and forth with them. And within minuets, they were all dangerously rocking the boat, laughing as warm water slashed up at them and soaked the bottoms of their robes. The closer they got to the castle, the more their tiny boat tipped back and forth hazardously. And then with a sudden jolt, before Sirius knew what was happening, the boat tipped to its right; momentarily pausing for about a second before flipping over, dumping the three boys into the murky deep water. Sirius heard screaming from a boat nearby when he surfaced, and watched as James and Remus popped up next to him. James quickly swam to the boat and struggled to flip it back properly. Remus joined him, desperately pushing up on the wooden boat while treading water and clearly trying not to panic. 


	2. Temporary Insomnia

**Disclaimer: **_None of the characters are mine...everything belongs to J.K. Rowling....she's a genius, bla, etc..._

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His mother was going to kill him. He was positive. The first Black to be sorted into Gryffindor. It was suicide, but he had hoped all along during the sorting that he'd end up there. Perhaps he was about be expelled now though, and wouldn't have to explain to his horrified mother why he wasn't put into Slytherin, the so called "house of honor".

Sirius pulled off his soaking robes and handed them to Professor Morrow as he was told. He was standing with Remus and James in a narrow room almost empty other than the dusty paintings filling the walls. There was a large desk at the end of the room with his very angry looking new professor stading behind it with his arms folded. Immediately after the three of them were sorted (all of them into Gryffindor), this man ordered them to follow him to his office. They had been silent since.

The three boys stared at their professor, expecting the worst; waiting anxiously for the yelling, the punishments, and the lectures. But the man just stared back at them, hands now set behind his back, chin tilted slightly upwards, watching them.  
  
"Explain yourselves," he finally said flatly with equally unreadable expression. "And I do suggest you tell the truth."

"Well, there was the storm-," James started immediately.

"And the boat was rocking...," Sirius added.

"Uncontrollably..."

"And the waves-"

"It was mad..."

"Nothing we could do, really"

"Which is why the boat was rocking..."

"But I was the one who tipped it, Professor," Remus interrupted calmly, speaking for the first time since they arrived in the room. "With all the rocking...I...well I dropped my wand into the water...I know it was stupid, but when I leaned over the boat for it...we just sort of...well, we tipped."

Sirius took to nodding stupidly while Remus told the story coolly. Morrow watched them for a while longer as a dead silence filled the room. "Very well," the professors nodded. "And I thank you, Mr. Lupin, for telling me the truth. Because today is your first day, you will all remain unpunished. Now I want the three of you to go _directly_ to your dormitories and get a fresh change of clothes before returning to the feast. And don't go thinking you'll be so lucky every time. If Professor Roklen would have spoken to you first..." he trailed off, shaking his head.

"Thank you, sir," Remus said, backing out of the room.

"Right, thanks," James nodded.

"And Mr. Lupin...," Professor Morrow added, "take the left corridor to your dorms, now...oh, and you'll need this." He handed Remus a folded piece of wrinkled parchment. Remus pocketed it and led the boys out of the room.  
  
"You didn't have to do that...I mean, it wasn't even your fault," James was telling Remus as the three of them reached a safe distance from the professor's office.

"Yeah, I mean...." Sirius added, "it was my fault,really...."

Remus shrugged. "It was nothing. In the long run I was saving myself, really. If I'd of let the two of you continue babbling on about a deadly storm for an hour, I'm sure I'd be sitting with you on the train ride home right now."

"Oh come on, our story wouldn't have been that bad," James grinned.

"Yeah, for your information I'm personaly very gifted in the art of story telling...and besides, we were just getting to the good part," Sirius mockingly whined.

"Where a mysterious sea creature would bite a hole in the bottom of the boat..."

"And to clog the leak I would stick my wand in the hole..."

"But then he realized it was my wand..."

"And suddenly the mysterious sea creature came back and stole James's wand..."

"So I couragously dove in after it..."

"And I was leaning over to watch..."

"To watch me wrestle victoriously with the hideous beast..."

"For about two seconds before the creature overcame him and it became an entirely pathetic struggle to watch James cry as he was whipped around the lake..."

"So it would seem from the safety of the boat," James snapped as he glared at Sirius. "Why aren't you jumping in after me yet?"

"Well, I was trying but Remus here was holding me back..."

"He was?"

"Mmm hmm. Cackling like a maniac and telling me to let you drown..." Remus laughed as James clapped his hands over his mouth in an overdramatic gasp and inched away from Remus. "And of course I wouldn't stand for it," Sirius continued, "but just as I was about to escape from his grasps and jump in to save you, the boat tipped."

James thanked Sirius, shaking his hand wildly while pretending to wipe tears from his eyes with his free hand and swoled mockingly at Remus. Their laughter echoed in the hall canceling out the squeaking sound of their wet shoes.

:::::

Sirius nearly collided with James as Remus stopped abruptly without warning. Remus had been leading them through winding corridors for the last five minuets, apparently not quite sure where exactly he was going.

"Er...Remus," Sirius said hesitantly, "you don't know where you're going, do you?"

James gasped loudly, "Don't you see? This must be another ploy to have me killed, Sirius."

Sirius widened his eyes in over exaggerated shock and gasped, "You're absolutely right, Jamesy...the man is out of his mind! And now he's cornering us in a dark corridor..."  
  
"Where I plan to eat you, exactly," Remus grinned, rolling his eyes. "Seriously though...they should have signs put up around this place or something." He turned around, looked up at the ceiling, around at the walls, then back down the corridor.  
  
"I say we keep walking," James suggested, "I mean...we have to end up somewhere..."

"Not necessarily...," Sirius warned, "I've heard there are tons of dead ends and corridors that lead no where, staircases that move, doors that disappear..."

"Look, Professor Morrow wouldn't tell us to take this way if it didn't lead somewhere," Remus countered, "let's just...let's just keep walking."

"Or maybe we _are_ expelled, and this is just the professor's clever way of getting rid of us..."

"James, you're an idiot," Remus grinned.

"Hey, look! Ha, I told you this was the way!" Sirius yelled as they made their way to an opening at the foot of a very large flight of stairs. "We've made it!"

James snorted and rolled his eyes. "And it's all because of your brilliant navigational skill, Sirius."  
  
They were standing below a ripped banner hanging over a portrait of a woman in bright pink clothing, sleeping in her frame.

"Welcome Gryffindor first years," Sirius read out loud off the poster.

"So...," James began, looking around, "where's the entrance?"

"Maybe she knows," Remus whispered, stepping up to the painting of the woman.

"So ask her," Sirius whispered back.

"You ask her."

"You're closer, Remus."

"By about an inch..."

"Still...that's one inch closer than I am..."

"Someone just wake her up already," James said irritably.

"Why don't you?"

"Honestly Sirius," James huffed as he stepped up to the portrait. He reached out a finger and began tapping it gently. "Excuse me, lady....er....hello?"

The woman grunted and scratched her nose, then began snoring softly. Remus shrugged as started tapping the woman's painted shoulder. "Er...mam? Wake up...er...please wake up...we kind of need your...your assistance..." He tapped her shoulder harder for a little while then shook his head as he turned back to James and Sirius. "Maybe she was painted just to sleep all the time."

"Oh come on," James yelled in frustration. "Wake up!"

He stomped his foot on the stone floor, creating a loud clapping noise which echoed down the hall. The woman snorted again and opened one eye, seeing the three of them she immediately brightened up and smiled, fully awake. "Password?" she called in a high pitched voice.

"Pass...," Remus stared in apparent confusion, "oh, right..." He pulled the piece of paper Professor Morrow handed him earlier. "Is it...er...," he unfolded the paper and read, "Dragonsbreath?"

The woman smiled as the portrait flung open, revealing a hole leading into their common room.

"Thanks," Sirius called back to her as he stepped forward. He couldn't believe it. He was standing in the Gryffindor common room. A Black standing in Gryffindor. He grinned as he stared around at the cozy looking chairs and warm fireplace. His mother was going to kill him.

::::::  
  
"Is the door shut?"

"What?"

"The door, Sirius, shut it," James demanded.

"Why? What's the big deal?"

"I just...you were the last one up....just shut the damn door"

"But it's hot up here." Sirius listened in the dark as James climbed out of bed and evidently knocked something heavy over, swore, and shut the door.

"Why do you need the door closed, James?"

"I don't know...I just do...ever since I was little...it's weird, but it drives me crazy when the door's not closed."

"What, like, just when you sleep?"

"No...all the time."

"Maybe you're insecure," Sirius whispered."

"Maybe you're an idiot and need to let me sleep," James whispered back.

"Can I open a window?"

"Do whatever you want."

"Why does having the door open bother you and not the window?"

James let out a very loud, very fake snore.

"Fine, I'll shut up," Sirius muttered, getting up from his bed and walking to the window. A sliver of the moon was glowing brightly and the sky was full of stars, as he opened the window, he let in the sound of frogs quietly chirping from the lake and trees shaking in the light wind. Sirius walked back to his bed and pulled the curtains shut around him.

He listened as James shifted his weight, springs creaking under him. _'Remus and the other boy must be sleeping'_ he thought to himself, staring at his fingers as his eyes focused in the dark. All his life, he'd had difficulty sleeping, especially when other people were around.

"James, are you still awake?"

"No," James grunted back.

"I can't sleep."

"My God, Sirius," James whispered, "just shut your eyes and relax."

"I can't...I just can't stop thinking about you," Sirius joked.

James laughed and Sirius heard him throw apart his curtains. A dim light shined through in the dark and Sirius watched through his curtains as his friend's shadow sat up in his bed.

"Alright...so what do you wanna do?" James asked him quietly Sirius grinned as he silently pushed his curtains apart and sat up to face James.

:::::

"We'll look around this floor first and see if we can find anything interesting," James was instructing silently to Sirius as they crept quietly down the staircase from the boy's dormitory. "Then tomorrow night we'll take the next level up. But we'll have to take Remus with us in case we get caught…he's already proven himself a worthy candidate to get us out of trouble with the profess-"

"Shh," Sirius interrupted him suddenly. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"I don't know…like…breathing or something."

From the top of the stairs, Sirius could see a young girl sleeping on scarlet couch near the fire breathing heavily and sighing in her sleep.

"Should we wake her up?" Sirius whispered.

"Why on earth would we want to do that?"

"You ever sleep on a couch all night? Not a pretty sight in the morning, trust me. Besides it's called being a Good Samaritan."

"Alright fine, go ahead…you can wake her up."

"What? Me…I said _we_, not me…"

"Sirius…what is the matter with you and waking people…"

"Nothing, I just….fine, I'll go wake her up."

Sirius rolled his eyes and crept down the stairs and over to the couch, pausing when he stood in front of the sleeping girl.

"My God," he whispered, standing still with his eyes widened in shock.

"What? What's wrong?"

"James, this is Lily Evans."

"So? Who's Lily Ev-"

"Shh, keep your voice down," he hissed stepping away from the girl as though she was poisonous.

"Why? We're waking her up, remember?"

"No…no we won't wake her….change of plans, we're going to walk away now…very slowly."

"Honestly Sirius, what is wrong with you?"

"Shh. Don't say my name."

"Okay, sorry."

"I'm not kidding; keep your voice down, James."

The girl on the couch coughed as Sirius grabbed his friend by the arm and pulled him away.

The second she sat up, Sirius flung himself down wildly on the floor. Lily snapped her head towards the two of them at the noise of Sirius falling.

"What was…," she began quietly.

"Sorry, I….I was er…I was just going to wake you," James covered quickly.

"Oh," she yawned, rubbing her head, "right…thanks."

"No problem," James muttered, rubbing his hair and shuffling his left foot at the carpeting.

Sirius rolled his eyes and tugged on James's robes. James glanced down long enough to see Sirius jerking his head towards the boy's staircase, clearly hinting for them to leave.

"Well, you seem to be fine so…," James started.

"Wait a minute…you're that Potter boy, aren't you?"

James stood startled for a second and Sirius listened as he mumbled a slow "yeah".

"You were one of those boys who showed up to the sorting soaking wet, weren't you?"

James grinned and replied yes. _'Bad idea, mate. Evans won't appreciate that at all.' _

Sure enough, as expected Sirius heard her give a disgusted huff of disapproval.

"And you must be friends with Black then, am I right?" Her voice sounded distinctly more irritable.

"Yeah...I mean…I suppose. Er…are you? I mean, do you know him?"

She huffed again and Sirius could sense the scowl that was most likely fixed on her face.

"Unfortunately," she replied curtly, "I just can't _believe_ he's here, what are the chances?"

"Right well, I'll tell him you said hello," James smiled at her in a joking manner.

Sirius flinched as he caught a glimpse of her glaring and crossing her arms. She huffed one more time, then rolled her eyes and walked away.

"Goodnight!" James called after her as she turned to glare one last time and quickly took the stairs up to the girls dormitory without another word.

James looked down at Sirius with confusion in his eyes and shrugged.

::::::::::

PLEASE REVIEW


	3. Meet My Dear Old Mum

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling is a genius...I am not, but I intend to poke and play with her characters as much as I possibly can by writing fan fiction. All the characters belong to her!!

**A/N: Bah! I have reviews! Whoo hoo! I'm thrilled!! I'll take a moment to thank you here:**

_Raphael_  
  
Aw, my first reviewer. Love ya, hun!!!!  
  
_angeliris3,_  
  
Minutes. Minutes. Minutes. Dammit, I've always spelt that stupid, bloody word wrong...seriously, defiantly NOT the first time it's been pointed out to me throughout my life...that damn word is a curse, I swear. I always forget how to spell it. Lol. Sorry to cause you the temporary insanity. Hope you're not too scarred, I understand that it is impossibly annoying when you're reading some fan fiction and notice a mistake but can't fix it...irks me too...and thanks so much for reviewing! Very much appreciated.  
  
_kurtcobain4eva_  
  
Oh my gosh, that's so cool that you said Nirvana rules! I loved that band. Hell, I still do. Those three are a huge part of my life, lol. No one I know agrees with me, and I've never found a fellow Nirvana supporter. Love to you!!!!! I virtually shake your hand!!!! Oh and Peter's defiantly coming. I may be ignoring him for now, but he'll have a huge part later, I can assure you. I'm just ignoring him now because of Sirius saying it used to just be him, Moony, and Prongs. So...yeah, Wormtail's coming. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
You guys are the best for reviewing, I love you all!!!!

I'm updating really quickly because I want to get to the plot as soon as I can....That's why the frist three chapters area all up already. Please, please reveiw!!!!!!!!!!!! And there's not as many mistakes anymore. I've been paying more attention and getting more acustumed to fanfiction.net....Onto the story, though....tra la la...

**.............................................................................................................................................................**  
  
"Lily says hello," James told Sirius the minute they arrived safely in their dormitory.  
  
"Shove it, Potter, that's not funny."  
  
"Alright, sorry," James replied, though he hardly looked it. In fact, judging by the broad grin that was plastered to his face and the way his hazel eyes were shining with humour, he found the entire situation highly amusing. "So what is it with her, anyway?"  
  
"She's just...she's this muggle," Sirius sighed and rolled his eyes.  
  
"_Ah_," James replied nodding knowledgably, "_'this muggle' _that explains loads, Sirius, thanks."  
  
"Stop grinning like an idiot, James, this is serious. How in the _world_ did she get accepted into Hogwarts?"  
  
"Well apparently she's not really a muggle."  
  
"So it seems."  
  
"Come on, Sirius; just tell me...how do you know her?"  
  
Sirius sat on the foot of his bed and began untying his shoes.  
  
"It's kind of a long story," he mumbled.  
  
"Well, you can't sleep remember...we have time."  
  
Sirius yawned. "You know, I'm suddenly very tired."  
  
"_Sirius_," James whined, "come on...tell me."  
  
"It's just," Sirius shook his head and looked up to the ceiling. "When we were kids we were neighbors..."  
  
"Small world...," James grinned, already clearly enjoying this.  
  
"Nah, not if you understand the whole story. See, my grandmother lives with us," Sirius paused as he made a face. "And she was good friends with _Lily's_ grandmother...who was a witch, too....but she died before finding out that her daughter – Lily's mother...was a squib...which she was...a squib that is....and she was raised as a muggle and then married a muggle and ....are you getting this?"  
  
James stared as he wrinkled his forehead in confusion, "No."  
  
Sirius shook his head in frustration.  
  
"Okay, well, long story short...my grandmother and Lily's grandmother were here at Hogwarts together. Both outstanding Slytherins as I've been told and great friends."  
  
"Oh, so they lived next to each other after Hogwarts because they were friends..."  
  
"Right, and when Lily's grandma died, she left her house to her children."  
  
"Oh, so Lily's parents?"  
  
"Not quite," Sirius sighed in slight annoyance. "Look...never mind, James it's a very long story."  
  
"No, no, no...," James said, shaking his head, "I think I'm getting it...so both of your grandparents left neighboring houses to your families in their wills."  
  
"Well, close enough...my grandmother's still alive though...unfortunately."  
  
"But you grew up next to that girl because the houses were left behind for you," James concluded nodding in understanding.  
  
"Right, pretty much...exactly...and well...you have to understand that my family is very...well to say the least...very _uncooperative_ when it comes to muggles."  
  
James nodded.  
  
"So our families...that is...Lily's and mine...well, they weren't exactly the type to have tea on Sundays while chatting about puppies and flowers," Sirius scowled as he went on. "You see, they haven't been overly friendly to each other because the Evans are muggles, and well...I guess Lily isn't but...anyway, the rest of them are."  
  
"And her mom's a squib?"  
  
"Her mom's a squib, right," Sirius repeated, "but same difference. I suppose that's where she got her magic side of blood from, though. But her dad is a pure muggle, an annoying, rich bastard muggle, at that. And her uncle...oh, her uncle is the biggest muggle I've ever had the misfortune to meet. Something my mother and I are actually still able to agree on."  
  
"He lives with them, too?"  
  
"He was the one who got the house...after his wife died, that is." Sirius paused to look at James, making sure he wasn't too confused before he went on. "Because Lily's uncle married a witch. She originally received the house just because she was the only pureblood witch left in the family. You see, Lily's dear grandmother was just as bad as mine when it came to tolerance of muggles...of course, I'm sure Lily has no idea...I assume she found out for the first time that she was a witch when her letter came. She was such a muggle growing up, James, I swear. I was _positive_ she wouldn't make it to Hogwarts."  
  
"Alright so...she hates you now because...because your complicated, dysfunctional families were cruel to each other while you two grew up. So it's not really your fault, is it? I mean it's your families that are the problem, isn't it?"  
  
Sirius grinned bitterly at this. "Well not quite. She and I didn't exactly make an effort to get on well, either. I mean...I was a little kid, I didn't know better. My family taught me that muggles were scum...and so far, the muggles I had met _were_ scum-"  
  
"But muggles are just-" James interrupted.  
  
"I know, I know, "Sirius rolled his eyes, "there's nothing wrong with muggles, I know. But at the time I was stupid."  
  
James snorted with silent laughter. "_At the time_, right."  
  
Sirius chose to ignore this and continued. "At first it was just little things...like stepping on her flower beds and glaring at each other, but then one day she snapped my broom...I suppose she couldn't understand why a nine year old boy would carry around a broom everywhere with no apparent purpose, but she was always fairly smart....she saw that it meant something to me...so she snapped it clean in half after I stole a _stupid_ piece of rope from her that she jumped up and down with and I threw on the roof..."  
  
Sirius paused to grin at this. "It was funny for about ten seconds, before that miserable, evil little-"  
  
"So she broke your broom and you threw her rope...and because of this you hate each other?" James interrupted again.  
  
"Well, essentially, yeah," Sirius shrugged.  
  
"Sorry to say this, mate, but it seems slightly _childish_ to me."  
  
"But there were a lot of other things, too," Sirius replied mildly then scowled at the ground. "Ugh, I can't _believe_ she's here, though. Just when I thought I was getting away from her, too."  
  
James sighed and grinned, "Well it could be worse..."  
  
"No it couldn't, you don't understand...we've been fighting with each since we were two...it's an ongoing battle against good and evil, James, she being the evil, of course."  
  
"Oh come on, that's not possible," James contradicted, laughing now. "People don't begin to hate each other at _two year old_, don't you think you're exaggerating a little, Sirius?"  
  
"No, seriously, I have pictures, Potter, _pictures_ of her slapping me when I was barely even old enough to walk!"  
  
"Babies don't beat on each other," James laughed again.  
  
"Yeah well, we were the exception to that theory."  
  
"Alright, alright," James yawned. "Okay, well thanks for the bedtime story... I'm going to sleep...my head hurts from this entire melodramatic baby abusing talk...Goodnight, Sirius. Try to get some sleep, mate."  
  
And with that, James pulled the curtains tight around his bed, Sirius heard him laugh one last time before turning off his lamp and becoming silent.

**....................................................................................................................**

"Sirius...hey, Sirius, wake up..."  
  
Someone was shaking him roughly. "Leamealone," he managed to mutter irritability.  
  
"It's _hopeless_," the voice attempting to roust him exclaimed in exasperation, "I've been trying to wake him for fifteen minutes, James...it's as though he's dead..."  
  
Sirius squinted against the sunlight up at his two friends, who were staring at him, shaking their heads.  
  
"Maybe he _is_ dead," James shrugged casually, ignoring the fact that Sirius was finally fully awake, both eyes completely open.  
  
"Mmm," Remus sighed, "you don't suppose anyone will miss him, though, do you?"  
  
"Who _Sirius_?" James looked taken aback. "Miss him? Nah, I can't think of anyone...can you?"  
  
"Not a soul." Remus shook his head in mock sadness and tutted quietly.  
  
Sirius glared at him and opened his mouth to say something; James however successfully cut him off.  
  
"Must have been bitten by a spider or something," he offered, poking Sirius hard on his shoulder for no reason.  
  
Remus paused as though he was in deep thought about this. "No," he finally concluded, "too heroic a death for him..."  
  
"Yes, you're right, of course. Okay, maybe he _saw_ the spider and died of sheer fright," James suggested happily. Remus nodded in agreement and smiled at him.  
  
"Yes, that's much more likely."  
  
James grinned, "It is, isn't it?"  
  
"But you know...it _is_ a shame, really," Remus added solemnly, now covering Sirius's head with a sheet, as though preparing him for burial "...I mean...he lived his entire life in vain...never doing anything useful or worth while."  
  
"Imagine."  
  
They fell into a very brief silence.  
  
"Right, so what should we do with him?" Remus asked cheerfully.  
  
"I don't know...feed him to my owl? Little bird hasn't eaten in days..."  
  
"Poor thing. You think he'd eat something like Sirius, though? _Disgusting_."  
  
"You guys suck, do you know that?" Sirius muttered suddenly, sitting up and untangling himself from his sheets he'd twisted himself in over the course of the night.  
  
"By golly, he's alive!" James exclaimed overdramatically, clapping Sirius on the back. "We thought you were a gonner for a second there, Sirius. But you seem to be fine after all. And thank Merlin you are! I say this calls for a celebration!"  
  
Sirius yawned and groaned for a few seconds before he quite literally rolled out of bed and sat lazily on the floor, apparently still waking up.  
  
It had only been two weeks since they arrived at Hogwarts, but James and Remus quickly learned Sirius' morning routine of laziness.  
  
And with a sudden burst of energy that occurred around the same time every morning, Sirius began pulling clothes haphazardly out of his wooden trunk, looking for socks and a hat to wear. At last, finding a rolled up pair of brown socks and a foul looking reptilian hide hat, Sirius stood up, stretched widely and grinned.  
  
"Well, let's go." 

**......................................................................................................................................................**  
  
Sirius closed his eyes tightly as the owls delivered letters and packages to their owners at breakfast. He was sitting absolutely still, clutching his fork in one hand, and a biscuit in the other with a pained expression on his face.  
  
James knocked the biscuit out of his hand and said something about squishing breakfast, but Sirius wasn't paying much attention.  
  
He had been expecting a howler from his mother since his first day, anxiously waiting every morning to hear her hideous, shrieking voice snarling at him for disgracing the family and such things.  
  
He took a deep breath and opened his eyes when the owls cleared out of the hall, thus marking the end of delivery, none of them leaving a bright red envelope for Sirius to open.  
  
"I can't believe she didn't send it yet," Sirius angrily announced to no one in particular. "She's doing it on purpose, you know. She probably expects me to sit here like a bloody prat and wait for it every day; expecting the worst and going mad all the while."  
  
"Maybe the owl got lost trying to deliver it-" Remus suggested tranquilly.  
  
Sirius shrugged.  
  
"Or...more likely...she's still working on curses to send me along with the howler, and can't find a good enough one yet..."  
  
"Maybe howlers are banned at Hogwarts and it can't get through..."  
  
"I doubt it, Remus. Besides, even if they were, _she'd_ find a way..."  
  
"Then...maybe the owl delivered it to the wrong person..."  
  
"Nah, never happens. Not with Falamus, at least. Hey, do you think she could send a curse via mail that could kill me? I mean...I've heard of hexes that you can send, but..."  
  
"-Or maybe, just _maybe_, she's not sending one at all," James interrupted calmly, "did you ever think of that, Sirius? Maybe she's actually _proud_ of you and you're just over exaggerating."  
  
Sirius laughed heartily at this. "You are indeed the funniest wizard alive, James Potter."  
  
They ate quickly while talking loudly over the rumbling noise of students chatting and laughter before being inturupted by a very unwelcomed visitor.  
  
"How many times, Mr. Black, must I tell you," a very silky, low voice suddenly addressed Sirius while snatching off his hat. "Hats, especially hats such as _these_," he hissed with a tone of great disgust, "are absolutely _not_ permitted here. Twenty points."  
  
Sirius looked up to see Professor Roklen; the handsome, well dressed, well poised, complete _git_ , Potions teacher, was strolling slowly along the Gryffindor table, pausing every now and then to take points from anyone who looked at him strangely.  
  
Sirius shook his head, pulled back his bangs, and roughly threw his hat back on as soon as the professor was a safe distance away. "Stupid, nasty, good for nothing gi-"  
  
"Gi?" James repeated, bemused as Sirius suddenly stopped ranting mid sentence, eyes widened.  
  
"No..._no_, It can't be...," Sirius muttered softly to himself in shock. "She wouldn't...I...I must be hearing things..."  
  
Remus and James exchanged worried and confused looks before returning their gaze to Sirius, who was now standing up and backing very slowly away from the table. To their great surprise, he quickly took off his hat and shook his head so his hair easily fell back into place.  
  
"What are you doing?" James asked with a grin as Sirius brushed food off his robes, straightened his tie, and continued to brush hair out of his eyes while his friends watched.  
  
"I don't believe this...It's her...," Sirius answered in a flat tone, now unrolling the sleeves of his robes quickly and franticly.  
  
"Who Lily?" James asked him, looking around the room grinning. He had grown very fond of watching Sirius and Lily fight every day over the past few weeks, especially when embarrassing childhood memories were revisited concerning Sirius and stuffed animals.  
  
"No, not Lily, you stupid prat," he snapped angrily, "_my mother_."  
  
"What are you on about, Sirius? Where do you see your mum?" James asked, doubt evident in his voice.  
  
"I don't _see_ her...," Sirius waved his hand in frustration, "I _hear_ her."  
  
"You hear her?" James grinned, "Really? You can pick out the sound of her voice out of all of _this_," James gestured pointedly around the Great Hall where the noise level seemed to have doubled in the last few minuets.  
  
"Trust me, the voice of that woman is not easily mistaken...," Sirius retorted, clenching his fists in nervousness and staring towards the wooden doors separating the Great Hall from the rest of the castle.  
  
"She's out there," he muttered, staring pointedly at the doors with a slight nod. "She came to take me away from Hogwarts..."  
  
"Oh come on, Sirius! I swear, you're the biggest drama queen I've ev-"  
  
But James did not have a chance to finish, as Sirius had turned and darted very quickly across the hall. Ignoring the girl he had accidentally knocked over in his rush, he flung the large doors open with all his strength, creating an eerie sort of rumbling noise when the heavy door slammed against its frame.  
  
He jogged down the spiraling stairs to the main entrance hall, where, as he expected, his mother was standing conversing with Dumbledore, flailing her arms wildly.  
  
Sirius stood rooted to the spot, halfway down the stairs, cringing as his mothers voice echoed loudly throughout the room.  
  
"I _demand_ to speak with my son, Dumbledore" she ordered in a frantic yell. "There's been some sort of filthy, disgusting mistake..."  
  
"I assure you, Ms. Black," Dumbledore was explaining calmly in a soothing voice, "there has been no mistake in your son's sorting-"  
  
"Well ," she shrieked, seizing the opportunity to interrupt Dumbledore as he paused to take a breath. "If it wasn't a mistake," she hissed, "then it was a _conspiracy_...a conspiracy to break up the noble house of Black, and I refuse to let you-"  
  
"I can also promise you that there has been no conspiracy," Dumbledore assured her tranquilly, a faint trace of a grin forming on his aging, mild face.  
  
She broke her gaze with Dumbledore and looked up to the staircase, directly at Sirius, a hideous glare fixed upon her yellowed, jeering face. He flinched as he met her eyes.  
  
"Sirius," she bellowed in the same shrill tone she had been using with Dumbledore,. "How could you? How could any son of mine let themselves be sorted into...into..." she stumbled for words, "into that _nauseating_ house!"  
  
"Perhaps we should continue this discussion in my office; I've just finished furnishing it the other day. In fact, you two would be the first to see it completed. And my great uncle Larvix sent me a beautiful, _calming_ Levardium that I could get out to relax ourselves," Dumbledore suggested gently.  
  
Sirius cringed slightly as Dumbledore mentioned a Levardium. For some reason, his mother absolutely despised them. She received one of these fragrant vases of blue and green swirling liquid long ago. They had had the jar in their house as far back as he could remember. She tried countless times to smash the vase and poor out the liquid, but it was as though it was charmed against this sort of activity. For reasons Sirius could not understand, she hated the jar of calming, sweet-smelling liquid so much that she had actually given it to him when he was young; his first and only present he had ever received from her in his life.  
  
"You old _fool_ ...I would never bring myself to that level of shame," she hissed, eyes glinting wildly, "I've had enough! We're leaving."  
  
Sirius was just about to yell something in protest, but remained silent when he noticed what 'we' she was referring to.  
  
Kreacher, his mother's miserable house elf was standing behind her; squinting his watery eyes and twitching his nose as though there was a disgusting stench upon the air. She took the house elf everywhere with her. Sirius assumed it was her way of saying ' Hey, look at me, I'm rich enough to own a house elf! Whoo hoo! '  
  
"Sirius!" she screamed suddenly in the same piercing voice, "get down here, you cowardly, wretched filth!"  
  
Defiantly, Sirius descended the stairs, struggling to keep eye contact with his mother.  
  
"_You_ ," she snarled at him when he reached the bottom of the stone steps, "can no longer consider yourself a Black. I knew from the day you were born, you know. I knew you'd end up like this! Disgracing the family name, bringing shame to what used to be the greatest wizarding family of all time! I should have snapped your neck the day you were born! You're nothing but a useless, sick, shameful, rotten, blood traitor that doesn't kn-"  
  
"That's quite enough I think," Dumbledore interjected, his voice no longer as calm as before, but now rather tired and irritated, "Sirius, you may return to breakfast, Mrs. Black, you are free to leave if you do not wish to carry this conversation any further—"  
  
She scowled at Sirius with evident revulsion one last time as she turned to leave, Kreacher tailing close behind.  
  
Sirius stood watching her with great distaste. Blood was pumping in his ears and he had gone numb with anger, more anger and hatred that he'd ever felt in his life. He found it hard not to charge after her and curse her into a thousand ugly little pieces as he grasped the banister in attempt to steady himself. His knees buckled and his right leg began to shake slightly but quickly in rhythm with his heartbeat.  
  
"_Wait_," he yelled out in a voice filled with loathing that he did not recognize at first as his own.  
  
She spun around so quickly and violently it looked as though it was physically painful.  
  
They stood in silence for a while, staring at each other with equal looks of repugnance.


	4. The Boy Who Nods Entirely Too Much

**Dislaimer: **You all know the drill....J.K Rowling owns everything...three cheers for her...hip hip!....hip hip!...hip hip!....Yes, that's right. I steal all her characters and ideas and all she gets in return are a few hip hips!

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**A/N**: Thanks again for reviewing, you guys. Makes me vury happyfull indeed. **Raphael**, you're very kind. Thank you very much for that review. :)!!!! And, **Kurtcobain**...(I know there's more to your name than that, but I just closed out of the window that said it and I'm too lazy to go back and check)...anyway....to answer your question...I love all sorts of bands. I mean, really...I'm obsessed with so many it's hard for me to single one out. :)...Right now, though, I'm really getting into Franz Ferdinand and at this EXACT moment, I'm listening to the Strokes, and I love them entirely. I plan on kidnapping Julian Cassablancas any day now.

But anyway, on to the story....We left off with Sirius and his mother staring daggers at each other...la de da....after re writing this part about twelve thousand times, I finnaly have come up with a suitable chapter, I think. It took me quick a while to proofread this because I kept changing around the fight with Sirius and his mum, but each time I wrote it it just turned into a huge shout fest where I used the word "shrieking" way too much...SOOOO, I decided to take a new approach to explain how their conversation turned out. Hope you like it. Please read and review!

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Chapter Four..........The Boy Who Nods Entirely Too Much......

* * *

Sirius stormed into the transfiguration classroom, slamming the door so hard behind him, that it flung back open, hinges squeaking in protest.  
  
He ignored the stares of his classmates, (mainly Lily Evans); he ignored Professor Morrow looking at him as though he had just killed a puppy in front of a group of small children, and he very pointedly ignored James, who was mouthing "shut the door" and gesturing to the entrance. He walked quickly to his professor and handed him the note Dumbledore had written for him, excusing him for being late to class.  
  
The class remained silent and staring as he pulled a chair beside James and threw himself down, slamming his books onto the desk in front of him dramatically. A loud slapping noise filled the room from the books being thrown in so careless a manner, but Sirius didn't apologize. He couldn't think of anything but his mother's sneering, repulsive face.  
  
"Right," Professor Morrow announced evenly after blinking a few times. "Five points from Gryffindor then, I think..."  
  
He shook his head and turned to point towards the large chalkboard behind him. "As I was saying..."  
  
"What happened?" James whispered to Sirius as Remus turned around in the chair in front of them to face him.  
  
"Family reunion gone horribly wrong," Sirius mumbled, pulling out a stack of paper and a quill as though he was preparing to take notes. "Miserable old hag."  
  
"What'd she say?" James pressed.  
  
"I'm trying to listen, Potter," Sirius snapped in answer, quite louder than he intended. Professor Morrow, however did not appear to notice, as he went on with the lesson, back turned on the class.  
  
"Come on, you never take notes," James countered crossly.  
  
"Sirius," Remus said quietly, glancing quickly over his shoulder to make sure Morrow wasn't watching, "are you right?"  
  
"Yes, just chipper," Sirius replied icily, "but unfortunately I've just come to realize that life in general apparently vomits on me."  
  
"That's a bit bitter, don't you think?"  
  
"Yes James, well you'd be bitter too; if your mother hated you and said you were the most disgusting thing on earth...worse than vermin might have been her exact words..."  
  
"Well, what'd you do?" James asked him in a very hushed voice.  
  
"I told her what I really thought of Slytherin..." Sirius grimaced, "needless to say, she didn't exactly care much for my opinion. And trust me, it wasn't a pretty sight."  
  
Sirius took a deep breath and willed himself to calm down. Remus watched him silently, with unmistakable concern.  
  
"You look like crap, Remus," Sirius finally whispered upon noticing that Remus had dark spots under his bloodshot eyes, and an exhausted-by-life kind of expression on his face. "You all right?"  
  
"Fine," Remus replied very quickly and shrugged. "Just tired." And with that, he turned around swiftly and Sirius noted that he sank down slightly in his seat.  
  
Sirius leaned forward in his chair.  
  
"No offense, mate...I just mean...you look ill, that's all ...perhaps the hospital wing would do you some justice," Sirius suggested very quietly to Remus' back.  
  
Remus however, did not reply.

**..................................................................................................................................................................................**  
  
"Damn it, this is all I need," Sirius groaned as Lily made her way over to him in a huffy quick paced stride.  
  
"Black!" she called out as she made her way to the tree that he, James, and Remus were leaning against in laziness. She was nearly at a run by the time she reached her destination.  
  
"What is it now, Evans? Is my presence on earth still insulting you? Hmm? Still annoyed by the mere sight of me? Alright then, great, I can understand that. So could you at least do me the favor of getting on with it, then? In fact,you know what? Let's just skip to the part where you say that you hate me, slap me a few times for empahsis, and then storm off. No point on wasting time going through small talk. Is that all right by you Evans? Just make it quick, all right? I haven't exactly had the best day."  
  
"I need to speak with you," she said flatly.  
  
Sirius didn't move.  
  
"Ugh," Lily huffed, "come on..."  
  
She grabbed his wrist and pulled him a good distance away from the tree, where, Sirius noted; his friends were sitting and watching him with great attention, James grinning like an idiot, as usual.  
  
"Okay...," she started, pulling her shoulder length auburn hair back in a very lose pony tail, "I hate you...and you hate me..."  
  
Sirius gave a very short, bitter laugh in agreement.  
  
"And we'll always hate each other..."  
  
"Stop sugar coating it, Evans, and get to your point..."  
  
She easily ignored this comment and went on, "...and I've dedicated my life to avoiding you..."  
  
"And I you..."  
  
"...and your disgusting family...," she added with great dislike in her voice.  
  
"...as have I." Sirius replied unenthusiastically to himself.  
  
"...as have you....what?" she asked quickly in frustration, wrinkling her forehead in misunderstanding, clearly annoyed at his inturuption.  
  
"Avoided my family," he answered mildly.  
  
She started at him for a few seconds in hesitation.  
  
"But never mind, continue your ranting...," he gestured her on.  
  
She shook her head and continued, "Okay, so despite all this hatred...and avoidance...all these years of longing to get away from each other...and....well, here we are," she gestured vaguely towards the castle.  
  
Sirius stared at her, waiting for her to continue.  
  
"_And_?" he asked when she didn't speak.  
  
"And....well," she bit her lip as though fighting off some great pain, "It's not like I....Well, I mean...I don't expect us to have tea every morning and frolic through the fields together or anything...but I was just thinking..."  
  
Lily sighed loudly when Sirius didn't interrupt. "Well, what I was thinking....Is that well...I was thinking you and I could work at...you know...Getting along a bit better while we're here."  
  
Sirius laughed shortly and shook his head, "_Right_. Get along a bit better. That would be great Evans, really it would....absolutely spiffing terrific...not to mention humanly impossible and extremely unlikely."  
  
"Well if you at least made an effort...," she spat at him angrily at once, "but of course you won't...You never do anything unless you see a benefit in it for yourself. Typical, Black. Very typical."  
  
"Oh and I can see that your brilliant effort lasted an extraordinarily long time," he countered sarcastically, "that's typical, Evans. Very typical," he added mockingly.  
  
"Okay, okay...," Lily said as she rolled her eyes, "you're right."  
  
Sirius blinked.  
  
"_So_...," Lily started slowly, filling in a very long silence. "You er...You tipped a boat on your first day, huh? You and that Potter boy."  
  
It was hard to read her tone, as Sirius guessed she was disguising the disapproval in her voice to sound friendly, but it wasn't very convincing.  
  
"And Remus, yes," Sirius answered impassively, "it was an accident."  
  
"Oh, of course you get that poor boy involved...," she rolled her eyes and glanced very quickly to the tree Remus and James were still sitting at.  
  
"That poor boy?" Sirius laughed, "Who, Remus?"  
  
Neither of them spoke for a few seconds.  
  
"Well, I have to go," Lily snapped suddenly, with the faintest hint of pink surfacing to her cheeks, "I'll see you around maybe."  
  
And with that, she turned on her heal and quickly darted back to the castle.  
  
Sirius strolled slowly back to the tree, momentarily glancing over his shoulder after her.  
  
"Always in such a bloody hurry," Sirius muttered as he plopped himself down on the grass in front of his friends. He took a deep breath and streched out his arms widely. "Well that was certainly weird."  
  
"What'd she want?" James asked automatically.  
  
"I don't know...For us to be friends, I think." Sirius shrugged, picking up a rock and chucking it at the lake.  
  
"Friends?"  
  
Sirius nodded, but continued to stare at the lake with a very confused expression etched on his face.  
  
"Oh, and I regret to say this, dear Remus, mate," he added gravely, turning to his friend, "...but I fear Lily Evans may actually be growing fond of you."  
  
Remus showed no reaction to this, but simply stared back at Sirius calmly as though waiting for more.  
  
"You know, now that you mention it, she does seem to look at you a lot, Remus...," James broke the silence, grinning at him. "She's a lot like you really...You know, what with the whole book reading, teacher worshiping thing you two both seem to love."

"James I don't -" Remus began irritably, but was cut off by James.

"I mean, she seems really smart and all that..."  
  
"Yeah, but she's also completely sodding mad..." Sirius reminded him, "Let's not forget that."  
  
"Mmm, point taken....Plus she obviously isn't very cheerful...," James added in agreement.  
  
"Or in the right state of mind, for that matter..."  
  
"And she goes to bed really bloody early...bit boring, I think...."  
  
"Probably to plot my death in her dormitory...."  
  
"But I say you have an excellent chance, nonetheless, Remus."  
  
"Crazy woman...," Sirius was still mumbling.  
  
"Plus, it'd be an excellent way to put an end to your friendship with Sirius here," James continued happily to Remus, nudging him slightly. "Which let's face it, we all know that wou-"  
  
"I um...," Remus began, cutting James off, "I should let you two know...I have to...I have to go home this week."  
  
"Really?" James stared at him, immediately wiping the grin from his face and slowly recovering from the shock that Remus had just inturrupted him so abruptly. "You're going home? For what?"  
  
"My uncle...," Remus replied quickly, "he's...sick."  
  
"He's sick?" James asked in concern, "With what?"  
  
"Er...well that I'm not sure...I just know that um...that it was some kind of mandrake accident gone horribly wrong."  
  
"Oh...well, that's," James paused, "that's...odd, Remus. I hope uh...I hope he's going to be alright."  
  
"Right, well, I'm sure he will be," Remus nodded franticly, "but I should um...er...I should...you know...leave now. Mandrake accident. So I er...I better get...packing."  
  
He got up to his feet abruptly and brushed off his robes, "I'll see you...in a week," he nodded again. "After I visit my uncle. At home. Mandrakes, you know? Yep, just stupid...mandrake accident. My uncle; he's always been a bit careless. So, anyway... I'll be back next week, then." He attempted a very weak smile and turned away from his friends.   
  
"Right," said Sirius, "see you then."

**..................................................................................................................................................................................**  
  
"He's been _blinking_ a lot lately?" James laughed, "What does that have to do with anything at all whatsoever, Sirius?"  
  
"I've told you, you can't trust blinkers, James, trust me...," Sirius insisted solemnly.  
  
James laughed yet again, "So let me get this straight...you see Remus _blinking_ a lot lately, and because of this extraordinary evidence you think he's hiding some huge and highly dangerous secret?"  
  
"Because of this... _and _because he mysteriously left all the sudden last week," Sirius added knowledgably, "so yes, I think he's hiding something."  
  
"Excellent Auror work, Sirius. But he's already explained. His uncle was in some freak accident with a mandrake. Now don't you think you're-"  
  
"That I'm overreacting, James? No, I absolutely _know_ that I am not," he insisted confidently, "trust me, I'm good at this."  
  
"Good at what? Monitoring how much your friends blink?"  
  
"Not just friends," Sirius persisted defensively, "I had this dentist, James, this _blinking_ dentist...and as it turns out he had a fake apparating license...And then there was this old woman who came into the store every day...Ugliest old women I have ever seen...And so then this one day she comes in, blinking like there's no tomorrow-"  
  
"_Blinking like there's no tomorrow?_ " James laughed and shook his head. "Where do you come up with stuff, Sirius?"  
  
Sirius disregarded his interruption and went on. "So anyway, she comes in one day blinking like mad, and a set of her ugly fake eyelashes falls out and lands on the counter... So come to find out...This ugly old lady was never really a lady at all....Just a really ugly old man getting his 'ugly old lady Tuesday discount' every week."  
  
"You have an 'ugly old lady Tuesday discount'?"  
  
"Mr. Perchette's idea," Sirius waved his hand in the air idly, dismissing James' comment. "...Anyway, there were loads more blinkers I've met...Lily Evans for one, she's obviously hiding something...the girl blinks more than Remus even...oh, and you know that bloke from the Cudley Cannons that was arrested last year for the murder of the Tornado's Keeper? _Blinker_, James. The man was a blinker."  
  
"Alright, Sirius. Point proven." James agreed throwing up his arms in surrender, still stifling a laugh.  
  
"And now _Remus_...," Sirius carried on thoughtfully, "I just wonder what it is..."  
  
"He's probably just been _blinking_ because he's tired or something." James replied reasonably.  
  
"He's tired?" Sirius asked incredulously, "he goes to bed the same time we do every night."  
  
James rolled his eyes but didn't say anything.  
  
"Oh, and don't forget...get this...after he visits his uncle...he comes back with all those scratches on his arms...," Sirius added excitedly, pointing at James.  
  
"...that he got from his mother's whipping picker bushes, Sirius, remember?"  
  
"Pah," Sirius spat bitterly, "so he says. Likely story."  
  
"Okay, okay...shut up now, he's coming."  
  
Sure enough, Remus had just entered the common room carrying a very old, ragged looking book. It had only been a few days since he returned from his week off and he had spent most of his time doing homework in the library and avoiding Sirius' constant questioning.  
  
"Where were you?" Sirius inquired suspiciously the moment Remus was in hearing distance.  
  
Remus sighed heavily, plopping down next to Sirius and running his fingers through his light hair, "I've been talking to Professor Wilks...I've missed so much this week..."  
  
He sighed again and pawed through his rucksack for a while before pulling out a quill and ink.  
  
"You know...Lily Evans has been asking about you, Remus," James leaned forward to whisper humorously. "Non stop, all week long, saying things like '_Oh woe, where is my love...my soul mate...my dear, sweet Remus Lupin?'_ or _'Oh how I miss that handsome devil, Remus Lupin...wherever could he be?'_...bla, bla, bla...Honestly, it's all I hear from the girl....She's got it bad....Clearly hopelessly in love...obsessed, you could say."  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes and glared at James. "She asked _once_, Potter. Don't go scaring the poor guy. We don't want him to do anything rash...Like kill himself. Evans can certainly have that effect on people."  
  
Remus smiled at his book that he had been dusting absentmindedly and glanced up at Sirius. "No hat today?" he asked mildly, in an obvious attempt to change the subject.  
  
"Nah, not today, mate...casual Friday, you see."  
  
"Ah," James nodded wisely, "so that explains it..."  
  
"Explains what?" Sirius retorted defensively.  
  
"Well you know...the hair, the smell, the clothes..."  
  
"What's wrong with my clothes? These things have been in the family for years!" Sirius claimed proudly, tugging on the sleeves of his sagging green jumper.  
  
"Apparently," Remus smirked.  
  
James snorted and grinned at Remus.  
  
"Oh, speaking of family," Sirius began brightly, "I've been trying to fancy myself a new last name...since you know...I can no longer consider myself a Black and all."  
  
"How 'bout dolt?" James suggested good-naturedly right away.  
  
"Sirius Dolt...," Remus repeated fondly, "you know...it kind of has a ring to it..."  
  
"Mmm. How ridiculously Funny. Anyway...I was thinking more along the lines of, oh I don't know," Sirius looked away thoughtfully, "something that would catch my personality...like Dashing, Valiant, Brilliant or maybe even Genius."  
  
James and Remus laughed heartily at this.  
  
"Right. Tell us when you've decided, Sirius." James told him off handedly, pulling a stack of Exploding Snap out of the pockets of his robes.  
  
"That's Mr. Righteous to you, Potter."  
  
James laughed again. "Right then. My apologizes Mr. Righteous, Sir."  
  
"Apology accepted, thank you James."  
  
Remus opened his mouth slightly and looked up to say something, but was suddenly interrupted when a large mass of black robes collided with great force into their small, circular table.  
  
"Sorry, sorry!" a boy's voice called out cheerfully from the floor. "Trying to catch my ruddy owl..."

He got to his feet very quickly, with such speed that it startled all three of the boys momentarily as he stood directly in front of them at once as though he had just Apparated. In his hand he was stuggling to hold a tiny dark owl that was attempting to claw and peck it's way through his clutches. He stuffed his small pet into his robes quickly as though it were nothing more than an old rolled up ball of parchment. The owl hooted in protest, but quieted down in a matter of seconds.  
  
Sirius recognized the boy immediatly. He'd seen him come up to the dormitories without saying a word every night and Sirius often wondered why the mysterious boy always came up to bed so late. He doubted this boy was even aware that he shared a room with three other people, as he was always the last to bed and the last to wake. Sirius also remembered seeing him hang around with Hufflepuffs quite often, and he was good friends with some Fletcher boy.  
  
"Not a problem," Remus collected himself and smilied kindly. "What's your name?"  
  
"Oh, right, sorry," the cheerful boy smiled back, thrusting out his hand forcefully to Sirius first. "Peter Pettigrew. It's nice to meet you, oh and you...," he added, now shaking James hand quickly before advancing to Remus and saying the same thing.  
  
"That's uh...Sirius...Sirius Righteous, I'm James Potter, and this is Remus Lupin...," James indicated nodding to each of his friends as he introduced them.  
  
"Great, great...," Peter beamed, "excellent to meet you all, excellent."  
  
"Right, excellent," Sirius muttered sarcastically in a mocking tone, quickly followed by Remus kicking him hard in the shins and shaking his head quickly in disapproval.  
  
"Wait a minute...," the Peter boy spat out excitedly and quite suddenly, yet again startling Sirius, "I think I remember you....," the boy went on, snapping his fingers a couple of times as he thought. "It's you three...you're the one's who flipped the bloody boat first day, eh?"  
  
He stared respectfully at them and nodded his head as though agreeing with himself, still smiling happily. "You should have heard Mundungus Fletcher...Nearly wet himself when he saw the three of you, said it nearly brought tears to his eyes to see some worthy potential come into this school."  
  
James continued smiling as he pulled out a chair to his right. "Why don't you sit down, Peter," he offered  
  
"Oh...well alright then, thanks James."  
  
Sirius watched as Peter blinked and listened to James ramble on about Quiddich and flipping the boat. The boy nodded so much it seemed his head might be in danger of falling off if he didn't stop. He scratched his ear, causing his light brown hair to stick up as he did so and never come back down. He asked James something, but Sirius didn't catch what exactly; he was too intent on watching Peter's eyes dart quickly back and forth while he talked to James and Remus, all the while smiling cheekily and nodding franticly.  
  
_'Damn, that boy nods more than Remus blinks'_ Sirius thought to himself crossly, waiting for the boy to stop gaping at James as though he were some kind of god.


End file.
